For decades, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan has united fans all over with hilarious stories that put a twist on typical Greek myths. With entertaining characters, humor and wit, the book series originally published in 2005 still has a cult following today, with Riordan publishing a total of seven books, with some being released as soon as last year.
Recently, the books were adapted into a Disney+ TV series starring Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri and Leah Sava Jeffries as the main character Percy and his friends Grover and Annabeth, respectively. The show released season 1 in December 2023 to both critiques and compliments. Season 2, which is based on the second book in the series, released episodes every Wednesday from Dec. 10, 2025 to Jan. 21, 2026.
In season 2, we follow Percy, Annabeth and Clarisse as they battle monsters, confront deep fears and more in their quest to get the Golden Fleece, which is featured in the OG Greek myth book, “The Odyssey”, to save Camp Half-Blood and keep it as it has been for decades: a camp where demigods (half god, half human hybrids) can exist in peace without monsters attacking them.
Overall, I found that the second season made quite a few changes to the original plot of the books, so much so that it did not feel like an adaptation of the beloved book series. Instead, it felt like watching an alternate version of the books come to life, making it upsetting for longtime fans of the book who were looking forward to seeing the plot they love come to life. Though I understand and appreciate the added tension and drama due to these changes, there are ultimately too many changes to the plot to justify this, which left me disappointed.
For instance, in some of the scenes, there were numerous moments hinting at a possible romance between Percy and Annabeth, which does not show up until book three. And even then, the pair only get together in book five, so this felt like it was too early to hint of something between them. In my opinion, the writers and producers of the show (which includes Riordan) are advancing them way too early in order to make the TV series more appealing. While I did enjoy some of the moments that came because of this, I found it annoying that Percy and Annabeth are already advancing so fast in their relationship, given they only met a year before in book one.
The shift in their relationship felt like night and day compared to the first season, where Annabeth and Percy were just kids. No, season 2 made Annabeth and Percy become what felt like years older than what they were supposed to, part of that being their very intensified relationship. And as if that were not enough, the writers of the show decided to give side character Clarisse a love interest, which only shows up in book five. This is way too early for any of this to happen, and while I understand the reasoning behind this, I still find it a little annoying.
But honestly, all those pale in comparison to my feelings towards the other changes in the plot. While the Percy and Annabeth moments are annoying but do not really change much, some of the changes to the plot revamped and shifted the entire rest of the story from the original book. For instance, they made it so that instead of escaping with the fleece, unharmed, Annabeth had to battle Polyphemus with Luke mysteriously standing by. This led to Percy giving Luke the fleece that Annabeth had nearly killed herself for, so Annabeth could not die, effectively giving Luke the two things Percy has that Luke wants: Annabeth and the fleece.
And because that did not happen in the books at all, it shifted the entire rest of the plot even further away from the book. Instead of the normal ending, where they get the fleece and save the camp, it culminates in a WWE-style fight to the death, complete with backstabbing betrayal, between Luke and his forces and Percy and Camp Half-Blood. I appreciate the extra drama and action, but this is just too big a change to be justified.
However, despite the many, many tweaks to the plot, Scobell and Jefferies’ acting was on point, and I found each 30-to-40-minute episode to be packed with drama, action and emotion. Thankfully, the episodes were also slightly longer than the first season, making them a bit Kris detailed, and each was masterfully crafted, even if it deviated from the book. The settings were also so good and seemed like they had been plucked straight from Riordan’s brain. I am not sure how they were able to find such fitting places to film, but applause to the team for creating such wonderful settings that felt like they actually followed the OG book. Plus, I enjoyed the flashbacks to Thalia and Annabeth’s backstory, which gave lots of insight into Annabeth’s character and really added action and intrigue to the story.
Ultimately, season 2 of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” had some tough waters to sail through, and while I did find it well executed and well written, I did not approve of the many changes and tweaks to the plot. It made the entire series feel like a TV show loosely based on the books, like an alternate version of the series many know and love rather than following the original plot of the book like I was hoping for. I will be crossing my fingers for a season 3 that follows the books more, but until then, I will be content to reread the books rather than rewatch the episodes.
